Moisture sensing valve means for fuse filter



MOISTURE SENSING VALVE MEANS FOR FUSE FILTER Filed 001;. 4, 1965 C 22, 1968 Q J TOPOL ET AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS GEORGE -3 TOPOL JOHN G VATTAY 2? ATTO NE 5 FIB-'1 Oct. 22, 1968 TOPOL ET AL 3,406,827

MOISTURE SENSING VALVE MEANS FOR FUSE FILTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1965 m i M mm Ii a w a 6 MWW/ INVENTORS GEORGE g. TOPOL FIG- 2 JOHN G. VATTAY BY W ATTORNEYS United States Patent '5 ABSTRACT OF THE: DISCL()SURE'=.-1

A fuse filter element having a moisture sensitivepaper trigger attached maria holding in an open positior'r a poppet valve located at one end of the "element "When moisture penetrates the fuse filter the paper triggertears and releases the'poppet'valve to move toa closed posi- This invention relates to an improvedsafetyi "device forfilter apparatus and particularly it pertains to a safety device which is responsive to the presence of r'ndist ure of a predetermined amount ,and'is 'ada ted to function auto-' matically' to terminate; operation" o the filter; under such conditions of contamination. l

"Tli'" 'nventiori is i'elated' to co-pending application Ser. No. 471,008, filedluly 12,1 1965, now Patent No, 3 367 ,5( )3, titled Fu se'Filter With Water'Sensitive Yalve Closure Trig-g'e'r, and"assigned'jto the same assignee "as thepresfent application," j i v I 1 'Affilterapparatus has a capabilityof removing solid and liquid phase contaminates 'but,"in'u'se, such contami nants tend to buildup and reduce the efficiency in 'opera-' tion 'of the apparatus; Should the filter apparatus become sufficiently reduced inefficiency so that it fails to remove" contaminants, or" should the material being filtered have an excessive Contamination which the filter is incapable of removing, then in thoseinstance's thefilterishould be rendered inoperative since itfails to produce a filtered produetjof the desired'purity. j To achieve these resultsth'er'e isirlcorporat'ed into the filter apparatu's' a safety device which isintended to op' erate automatically to terminate operation-of the filterI Prior to "such operation; however, it is essentialthat the safety device'notinterferewith' normal operation of the filte'r' ar'id should becomeoperative "only-at the point where'the material being filtered is excessivelycontaininat'ed or when the filter is itselfunduly"contaminated. Until such pointof excessive contamination, however, it is an importantrequisite that the safety device be noninterfering with normafop'eratio'n of filtration; Accordingly, it 'is' one of the" principalobjects of the present invention to provide a safety devicewhich will operate reliably'to terminate operation of the filter apparatus responsively 'to excessive conta Init ation of the material being filtered.

It is 1 further object of the finvention to provide filter apparatus s'afety dev'ice "in whichthe safety device is disposed in a non turbule'nt portion of the filter so as not to be responsive to conditions of fluid flow, ,butpn the contrary to be only responsive to conditions of contamina-. tion of the fluid undergoing filtration. v

I It is another object ofthe present invention to provide *afilter cartridge, incorporating a safety device, which can be easily mounted and demounted by pro viding novel locating means. and nozzle means for directing -the,fioW of filtered fluid through-the apparatus after ithas passed through the filter element. t

.It'is'a further object of the present invention to pro- 3,46,8Z7 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 vide a combination safety device and filter-which is operable 'by combined spring and hydraulic action to effect operation of the safety device to terminate the filter op- 6l3tl0n' under conditions of excessive contamination.

his a further object of the present invention to provide a safety-device which can be designed to operate precisely at a prescribed condition of contamination and thereby achieve a greater useful life of the filter element. It is an important feature of the present invention that the safety device can be constructed to serve many dilterent sizecartridge elements "so that, regardless of the cartridge' location, or size, the device will operate to terminate tion at the other endof ithefelernentiaird thereby blo'clt filter operation under conditions of excessive contamination.

' The present invention incorporates an important feature in the use of a trigger paper which is adapted to operate upon exposure to a predetermined amount of water contamination and which cannot be operated by such other parameters as variations of flow, pressure drop, etc. The foregoing objects and features of the invention are achieved together with other objects and features which will become apparent from a consideration of the followend of the filter element after the safety device has been operated to terminate fiow through the filter element; and FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the safety device shown separated from the fllter element in FIGURE 2 and prior to its insertion. v

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, the filter apparatus designated generally by reference numeral 10, includes a casing 12 which defines an'inlet chamber 14 having a plurality of filter cartridges 16 which are disposed between deck plates 18 and 20.

v The chamber 14 has an upper cover 19 which is retained by lugs 9 having pivot pins 11 which pass through sleeves 15 and are secured thereto by nuts 17, the sleeves 15 being secured to the cover 19 by means of an annular retainer flange 21 welded at 23 and 25 to the cover 19 and sleeve 15, respectively. In this manner, the cover 19 is clamped over the casing 12, with the annular flange 25' engaging the end 27.0f the casing .12 about its entire periphery and thereby sealing the chamber 14.

A fluid inlet 22 provides an inflow of fluid indicated by the arrow 24 which enters chamber 14 and thereafter passes through filter cartridges 16, the fluid flow being passed through the interior of the filter cartridge as indicated by the arrows 26 and into outlet chamber 28. Upon entering chamber '28 the filtered fluid passes through a flow guide 32 and through the semicircular I openings which are formed in the depending flow guide 32, such flow being then directed out through an outlet port 34 (as indicated by the arrow 36) in end wall 38 which is convexly shaped and is of the same general outline as the upper cover 19. The end wall 38 serves to define chamber 28 together with deck plate 20. Cartridges 16' are mounted at their lower ends within openings 40 in the lower deck plate 20 and the upper ends of the cartridges are retained by locating pins 42 which enter the complementary openings 44 in the upper end of the cartridges, these pins being mounted in upper deck plate 18 which is secured through mounting plate 41 and threaded stems 4-9 (one of which is shown in FIGURE 1) 'and nuts 46, 48, to casing 12 through mounting lugs 52. In this manner the cartridge elements 16 are removably mounted within the apparatus.

Referring next to FIGURES 2-4, each filter cartridge 16 is comprised of a filter element 54 having a surrounding cotton sock 56 and the interior of the'filter element defines a longitudinal passage 58 having at one end a valve eat 60 provided by a coupling 61 with a shoulder-62 bearing against the end of the filter element, and a cylindrical section 64 which fits within the interior of the passage 58. A second cylindrical section 66 of the coupling 61 is surrounded and is gripped by a soft plastisol nozzle 68 which passes through openings 40 of deck plate 20 (FIGURE 1) and seals such openings as it transfers the filtered fluid into chamber 28. At the other end 70 of the filter element (FIGURE 2) is an end cap 71 which bears against the end '74 of-the filter-element 54 and is sealed by bonding cement 76. The end cap 71 has a conical recess 77 at the center of which is a socket opening 44 which is formed in tubular section 78, the conical section 77 assisting to locate the cartridge when the pins 42 on upper deck plate 18 enter socket opening 44 to locate the cartridge element in place.

When the cartridge element is mounted the soft plastisol nozzle 68 when entering opening 40 forms a seal so that the fluid passing from chamber 14, radially through the filter element 54 and entering longitudinal passage '58 then passes through the openings 40 in. the deck plate and enters chamber 28.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the safety device for terminating operation of the filter element when excessive Water contamination occurs, is comprised of a nylon composition poppet 80 having a convexly curved sealing surface 82 which is biased into sealing engagement with the valve seat 60 (FIGURE 3) by a combination of spring and hydraulic forces. The spring force is derived. from a helical coil spring 84 which is compressed between shoulder 86 and inner surface 88 of the poppet 80-, said poppet being held against the resistance of the compressed spring by a paper trigger 90 which is fastened by a wire 92- to the poppet 80 and by a second wire 94 to the end cap. The paper trigger (FIGURE 4) is of sufiicient structural strength to maintain the poppet against the resistance of the conrpressed spring but it loses its strength when exposed to water so that when water does penetrate the thickness of the filter element and comes into contact with the paper, the force of the compressed spring is sufficient to rupture or tear the paper trigger 90 and the spring 84 is then free to bias the poppet along the interior of the passage 58 and toward the valve seat 60.

Because the velocity of hydraulic fluid increases linearly in the direction toward the valve seat '60 the poppet 80 will be carried in a sealing direction by the hydraulic force, eventually reaching the position shown in FIGURE 3. Actually, the combination of spring force, hydraulic force and the force of gravity (the upper end of FIGURES 2 and 3 of the raised ends of the-filter element, FIGURE 1) is such that once the paper trigger 90 tears, the cartridge ceases its filter operation almost immediately. The poppet 80' is proportioned in relation to the diameter of the passage 58 so that it cannot tilt or cock appreciably from its proper position as it moves from retracted into sealing position; even should the poppet be angularly misaligned by a slight amount, this will not seriously detract from a perfect seal. Once the poppet is in sealing position, the flow terminates entirely.

As will be noted in FIGURE 2, the paper trigger 90 is fitted within a tapered recess 95 of the filter element 54 so that a portion of the paper trigger lies close to the outer surface of the filter element and consequently water does not have to penetrate through the entire thickness of the filter element before coming into contact with the paper trigger 90. As a result, the filter operation is ter: minated by the paper trigger when the fluid undergoing filtration is excessively contaminated and before any portion of such excessively contaminated fluid has had an opportunity to'pass radially through-the-filter and age from the incoming fi uid 24, there is a baflle 102 (FIGURE '1)"which-ser ves=as a guardagainst damage to the filter elements. I a p U In operation. the various filter elements are positioned withtheir nozzles 68 force-fitted into theopenings 4(lfand the upper deck plate 18 with the pins 42 isthen inserted, in place, the pins 42 entering openings 44 to position the opposite ends of the. filter cartridges 16. The concave e; cesses 77 of the end caps facilitate entry of the, pins 42 into the sockets 44. At the start of operation the components of the safety deviceare-positioned as indicated in FIGURESZ and 4... 4.

The fluid flow .in the direction indicated by thearrow 24 commences through inlet 22 and past the splash guard 102, entering chamber14and the fluid then passesthrough the filter cartridges 16 (FIGURE Z) and entering longitudinal passage 58 where it travels downwardly and, moving in the direction of the arrows 26 (FIGURE 1'), enters chamber128 and leaves through'outlet 34 asir1 dicatedby.

the arrow 36. The pressure differential between the 1111-.

filtered fluid in chamber 14 and the filtered fluid in charn her 28 is measured by pressure gauges 98 and 10 0! Should the fluid undergoing filtration become. exce'ssively contaminatedby the presence offwater, the moisture will penetrate the filter element 54, and, sincethe inclined notch 951(FIGURE 2) disposes the paper trigger 90 closer to the outer surface. of the cartridge, the trigger will be contactedbythe moisture and become sufficiently weakened so that it will be torn bythe force of the com pressed spring 84, and the. spring which is fitted within the skirt 81 will bias the poppet 80 downwardly. Since the hydraulic fluid moves faster within the passage 58 the closer the poppet approaches. the seat 60, the poppet will thereby be displaced both by hydraulic force and by the force of spring 84 untilthe convexly shapedsurfa'ce 82 is in sealing engagement with the seat 60 terminating further flow through the cartridge. The safety device thus oper ates to terminate the operation responsively to the pres.-. ence of excessive waten containination pf the material being filtered. At the sanie time, the safety device does not interferewith normal operationof the filter and the paper trigger. 90 is notpro'ne to be torn by any factor other than the presence of excessive moisturebecause it is located at the uppermost part of the filter cartridge at the. point of least turbulence/ a p v One of the important features of the present inven'tion is that the safety device is not specifically constructed for any particular size filter cartridge andit is possible to equip anysize filter cartridge with the safety device and its operation'wil l be substantially unalfected. 'As a result, the

safety device; while operating in the same way regardless of the size of filterfele'ment; will nevertheless be as eflicient andoperate as reliably'to effect terinina'tion 'of the filter regardless of'the 'diar ne't'e r, or'the thickness of'fil t'er element 54 or the length 'of the cartridge.

' The safetydevice' is'not responsive to the presence of a -solid contaminate because the cartridge is a fi'ne'filter. In overall operation the filter has a'high'dirt-removal efficiency and dirt holding capacity and in' addition has a high water separationefficiency with the described positive shutoff action. Because the filtration and water monitoring functions are independent it is possible to arrange a structure for best performance of each distinct function.

It is also an important feature of the present invention that the cartridge does not lose sensitivity at low-flow rates.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with a single example embodiment, it will be understood that this is illustrative of the invention and is by no means restrictive thereof. It is reasonably to be expected that those skilled in this art can make numerous revisions and adaptations of the invention to suit individual design requirements and it is intended that such revisions and adaptations will be included within the scope of the following claims as equivalents of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a filter assembly, the combination of: a porous filter element permitting flow of fluid therethrough from the outside of the filter element to the inside thereof, said filter element having a longitudinal internal passage, means forming an outlet port including a valve seat disposed at one end of the longitudinal passage, an end cap forming a sealed enclosure at the opposite end of the passage, a poppet valve proportioned to move through the passage and having a sealing surface corresponding to said valve seat, said poppet valve being normally retained in a position adjacent said end cap, and means constructed and arranged to retain said poppet valve in its initial position adjacent said end cap during normal filter operation, said retaining means constructed of moisture sensitive material of such a nature as to tear and release the poppet valve when exposed to moisture penetrating said filter element so that the poppet valve will be moved into a closed position with the valve seat to terminate the flow of fluid through the filter element.

2. In a filter assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the poppet valve is provided with a skirt section, and a spring is disposed within the skirt section and positioned to engage the end cap to bias the poppet valve toward the valve seat.

3. In a filter assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the poppet valve is constructed of a relatively hard inert elastomeric material.

4. In a filter assembly, the combination of: a porous filter element permitting flow of fluid therethrough from the outside of the filter element to the inside thereof, said filter element having a longitudinal internal passage, a poppet valve proportioned to move through the passage and located adjacent one end thereof, mounting means disposed at said one end of the filter element passage to position the poppet valve within said passage and to provide a seal at said one end, outlet means disposed at the other end of the filter element passage, said outlet means including a valve seat, a retaining means constructed of moisture sensitive material, and means for securing said retaining means to the mounting means and to the poppet valve for retaining the poppet valve in its initial position at said one end of the passage, said moisture sensitive retaining means constructed and arranged to tear and release the poppet valve when exposed to moisture penetrating said filter element so that the poppet valve will be moved into engagement with the valve seat to close the passage and thereby terminate the fiow of fluid through the filter element.

5. In a filter assembly as set forth in claim 4, wherein the outlet means includes a relatively soft sealable nozzle.

6. In a filter assembly as set forth in claim 4, wherein the mounting means includes a spring for biasing the poppet valve in a sealing direction.

7. In a filter assembly as set forth in claim 4, wherein the mounting means includes a tubular element projecting into the passage for facilitating the alignment of the poppet valve.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,798,503 7/1957 Carver et a1. 13767 2,048,388 7/1936 Johnsen l37-68 3,367,503 2/1968 Topol 210-96 3,339,735 9/1967 Kasten 210-100 2,635,629 4/ 1953 Asaro 137-460 X 2,711,186 6/1955 Perez 137460 2,806,484 9/1957 Schultz 137460 REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

W. S. BRADBURY, Assistant Examiner. 

